The role of diabetes on the clinical manifestations of pulmonary tuberculosis

Tropical Medicine & International Health, 05/21/2012

Faurholt–Jepsen D et al. – Diabetes is associated with small changes in the manifestations of tuberculosis (TB), but may have little clinical significance.

Methods

The authors studied 1250 patients with pulmonary TB in an urban population in a cross–sectional study in Tanzania.

All participants were tested for diabetes and HIV co–infection, and TB culture intensity was assessed.

Levels of white blood cells, haemoglobin, acute phase reactants, CD4 count and HIV viral load were measured, and a qualitative morbidity questionnaire was used to identify the prevalence of disease–related symptoms.

Diabetes did not affect culture intensity or HIV status, but self–reported fever was three times higher among participants with diabetes than in those without diabetes (OR 2.9, CI 95% 1.5; 5.7, P = 0.002).